December 30
Events
Pre-1600
- 534 - The second and final edition of the Code of Justinian comes into effect in the Byzantine Empire.
- 999 - Battle of Glenmama: The combined forces of Munster and Meath under king Brian Boru inflict a crushing defeat on the allied armies of Leinster and Dublin near Lyons Hill in Ireland.
- 1066 - Granada massacre: A Muslim mob storms the royal palace in Granada, crucifies Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacres most of the Jewish population of the city.
- 1419 - Hundred Years' War: Battle of La Rochelle.
- 1460 - Wars of the Roses: Lancastrians kill the 3rd Duke of York and win the Battle of Wakefield.
1601–1900
- 1641 - Reapers' War: Louis XIII of France swears the Catalan constitutions, being appointed Count of Barcelona and thus establishing the personal union of the Principality of Catalonia with the Kingdom of France.
- 1702 - Queen Anne's War: James Moore, Governor of the Province of Carolina, abandons the Siege of St. Augustine.
- 1813 - War of 1812: British soldiers burn Buffalo, New York.
- 1816 - The Treaty of St. Louis between the United States and the united Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi Indian tribes is proclaimed.
- 1825 - The Treaty of St. Louis between the United States and the Shawnee Nation is proclaimed.
- 1853 - Gadsden Purchase: The United States buys land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest.
- 1890 - Following the Wounded Knee Massacre, the United States Army and Lakota warriors face off in the Drexel Mission Fight.
- 1896 - Filipino patriot and reform advocate José Rizal is executed by a Spanish firing squad in Manila.
- 1896 - Canadian ice hockey player Ernie McLea scores the first hat-trick in Stanley Cup play, and the Cup-winning goal as the Montreal Victorias defeat the Winnipeg Victorias 6–5.
- 1897 - The British Colony of Natal annexes Zululand.
1901–present
- 1902 - The Discovery Expedition under Robert Falcon Scott attains a Farthest South at 82°17′S in Antarctica.
- 1903 - A fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois kills at least 605.
- 1905 - Former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg is assassinated at the front gate of his home in Caldwell.
- 1906 - The All-India Muslim League is founded in Dacca, East Bengal, British India.
- 1916 - Russian mystic and advisor to the Tsar Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin is murdered by a loyalist group led by Prince Felix Yusupov. His frozen, partially-trussed body was discovered in a Petrograd river three days later.
- 1916 - The last coronation in Hungary is performed for King Charles IV and Queen Zita.
- 1922 - The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is formed.
- 1927 - The Ginza Line, the first subway line in Asia, opens in Tokyo, Japan.
- 1935 - The Italian Air Force bombs a Swedish Red Cross hospital during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.
- 1936 - The Flint sit-down strike hits General Motors.
- 1943 - Subhas Chandra Bose raises the flag of Indian independence at Port Blair.
- 1944 - King George II of Greece declares a regency, leaving the throne vacant.
- 1947 - Cold War: King Michael I of Romania is forced to abdicate by the Soviet Union-backed Communist government of Romania.
- 1952 - An RAF Avro Lancaster bomber crashes in Luqa, Malta after an engine failure, killing three crew members and a civilian on the ground.
- 1954 - The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation is established to consolidate criminal investigation and intelligence into a single agency.
- 1958 - The Guatemalan Air Force sinks several Mexican fishing boats alleged to have breached maritime borders, killing three and sparking international tension.
- 1967 - Aeroflot Flight L-51 crashes near Liepāja International Airport in Liepāja, Latvia, killing 43.
- 1970 - Hurricane Creek mine disaster, near Hyden, Kentucky
- 1972 - Vietnam War: Operation Linebacker II ends.
- 1987 - Stella Sigcau, Prime minister of the South African Bantustan of Transkei, is ousted from power in a bloodless military coup led by General Bantu Holomisa.
- 1993 - Israel establishes diplomatic relations with Vatican City and also upgrades to full diplomatic relations with Ireland.
- 1996 - Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut down services across Israel.
- 1997 - In the worst incident in Algeria's insurgency, the Wilaya of Relizane massacres, 400 people from four villages are killed.
- 2000 - Rizal Day bombings: A series of bombs explode in various places in Metro Manila, Philippines within a period of a few hours, killing 22 and injuring about a hundred.
- 2004 - A fire in the República Cromagnon nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 194.
- 2005 - Tropical Storm Zeta forms in the open Atlantic Ocean, tying the record for the latest tropical cyclone ever to form in the North Atlantic basin.
- 2006 - Madrid–Barajas Airport is bombed.
- 2006 - The Indonesian passenger ferry sinks in a storm, resulting in at least 400 deaths.
- 2006 - Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein is executed.
- 2009 - A segment of the Lanzhou–Zhengzhou–Changsha pipeline ruptures in Shaanxi, China, and approximately of diesel oil flows down the Wei River before finally reaching the Yellow River.
- 2009 - A suicide bomber kills nine people at Forward Operating Base Chapman, a key facility of the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan.
- 2013 - More than 100 people are killed when anti-government forces attack key buildings in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 2020 - A large explosion at the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden kills at least 22 people and wounds 50.
Births
Pre–1600
- AD 39 - Titus, Roman emperor
- 159 - Empress Dowager Bian, second wife of Cao Cao, mother of Cao Wei's first emperor, Cao Pi
- 1204 - Abû 'Uthmân Sa'îd ibn Hakam al Qurashi, ruler of Minorca
- 1371 - Vasily I of Moscow
- 1490 - Ebussuud Efendi, Ottoman lawyer and jurist
- 1548 - David Pareus, German theologian
- 1578 - Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop
1601–1900
- 1642 - Vincenzo da Filicaja, Italian poet
- 1673 - Ahmed III, Ottoman sultan
- 1678 - William Croft, English organist and composer
- 1722 - Charles Yorke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain
- 1724 - Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, French painter and educator
- 1757 - Sebastián Kindelán y O'Regan, colonial governor of East Florida, Santo Domingo and Cuba
- 1760 - Charles Sapinaud de La Rairie, French general
- 1792 - Sylvester Jordan, German lawyer and politician
- 1819 - Theodor Fontane, German author and poet
- 1819 - John W. Geary, American lawyer and politician, 16th Governor of Pennsylvania
- 1825 - Samuel Newitt Wood, American lawyer and politician
- 1842 - Osman Hamdi Bey, Ottoman administrator, intellectual, art expert and painter
- 1849 - John Milne, English seismologist and geologist
- 1851 - Asa Griggs Candler, American businessman and politician, 44th Mayor of Atlanta
- 1853 - André Messager, French pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1857 - Sylvio Lazzari, French-Austrian composer
- 1865 - Rudyard Kipling, Indian-English author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1869 - Stephen Leacock, English-Canadian political scientist and author
- 1869 - Ōzutsu Man'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 18th Yokozuna
- 1873 - Al Smith, American lawyer and politician, 42nd Governor of New York
- 1878 - William Aberhart, Canadian evangelist and politician, seventh Premier of Alberta
- 1879 - Ramana Maharshi, Indian guru and philosopher
- 1883 - Archer Baldwin, American-English farmer and politician
- 1883 - Lester Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1884 - Hideki Tōjō, Japanese general and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Japan
- 1886 - Austin Osman Spare, English artist and occultist
- 1887 - William Kolehmainen, Finnish-American runner and coach
- 1887 - K. M. Munshi, Indian politician, writer and educationist, founder of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
- 1890 - Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, Mexican soldier and politician, 47th President of Mexico
- 1897 - Alfredo Bracchi, Italian songwriter and screenwriter
- 1899 - Helge Ingstad, Norwegian explorer, lawyer, and politician, 2nd Governor of Svalbard
1901–present
- 1904 - Dmitry Kabalevsky, Russian composer and academic
- 1905 - Daniil Kharms, Russian poet, author, and playwright
- 1906 - Alziro Bergonzo, Italian architect and painter
- 1906 - Carol Reed, English director and producer
- 1910 - Paul Bowles, American composer and author
- 1911 - Jeanette Nolan, American actress
- 1913 - Lucio Agostini, Italian-Canadian conductor and composer
- 1913 - Elyne Mitchell, Australian author
- 1914 - Bert Parks, American actor, singer, television personality, and beauty pageant host
- 1917 - Seymour Melman, American engineer and author
- 1919 - Dick Spooner, English cricketer
- 1919 - David Willcocks, English organist, composer, and conductor
- 1921 - Rashid Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Lebanon
- 1922 - Jane Langton, American author and illustrator
- 1923 - Prakash Vir Shastri, Indian academic and politician
- 1924 - Yvonne Brill, Canadian-American propulsion engineer
- 1925 - Ian MacNaughton, Scottish actor, producer, and director
- 1926 - Stan Tracey, English pianist and composer
- 1927 - Jan Kubíček, Czech painter and sculptor
- 1928 - Bo Diddley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1929 - Rosalinde Hurley, English physician, microbiologist, and academic
- 1930 - Roy Yorke Calne, English surgeon and academic
- 1930 - Elmira Minita Gordon, Belizean educator, 1st Governor-General of Belize
- 1930 - Red Rhodes, American pedal steel guitarist
- 1930 - Tu Youyou, Chinese chemist and pharmacist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1931 - Skeeter Davis, American singer-songwriter
- 1931 - John T. Houghton, Welsh physicist and author
- 1931 - Frank Torre, American baseball player and manager
- 1933 - Timité Bassori, Ivorian filmmaker, actor, and writer
- 1934 - John N. Bahcall, American astrophysicist and astronomer, co-developed the Hubble Space Telescope
- 1934 - Joseph Bologna, American actor, director, playwright and screenwriter
- 1934 - Barry Briggs, New Zealand motorcycle racer and sportscaster
- 1934 - Joseph P. Hoar, American general
- 1934 - Tony Serra, American criminal defense and civil rights attorney, political activist and tax resister
- 1934 - Del Shannon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1934 - Russ Tamblyn, American actor
- 1935 - Omar Bongo, Gabonese lieutenant and politician, President of Gabon
- 1935 - Sandy Koufax, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1935 - Jack Riley, American actor
- 1937 - Gordon Banks, English footballer and manager
- 1937 - John Hartford, American singer-songwriter and fiddler
- 1937 - Jim Marshall, American football player
- 1937 - Paul Stookey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1938 - Ron Wolf, American Football Hall of Fame General Manager
- 1939 - Glenda Adams, Australian author and academic
- 1939 - Felix Pappalardi, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
- 1940 - James Burrows, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1941 - Mel Renfro, American football player and coach
- 1942 - Vladimir Bukovsky, Russian author and activist
- 1942 - Guy Edwards, English race car driver
- 1942 - Michael Nesmith, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1942 - Janko Prunk, Slovenian historian, academic, and politician
- 1942 - Robert Quine, American guitarist
- 1942 - Toomas Savi, Estonian physician and politician
- 1942 - Fred Ward, American actor
- 1944 - William J. Fallon, American admiral
- 1944 - Joseph Hilbe, American mathematician and philosopher
- 1945 - Davy Jones, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1945 - Lloyd Kaufman, American director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded Troma Entertainment
- 1945 - Paola Pigni, Italian runner
- 1945 - Concetta Tomei, American actress
- 1946 - Clive Bunker, English drummer and songwriter
- 1946 - Patti Smith, American singer-songwriter and poet
- 1946 - Berti Vogts, German footballer and coach
- 1947 - James Kahn, American author, screenwriter, and producer
- 1947 - Jeff Lynne, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1947 - Steve Mix, American basketball player and coach
- 1948 - Jed Johnson, American interior designer and director
- 1949 - David Bedford, English runner
- 1949 - Jerry Coyne, American biologist and author
- 1949 - Jim Flaherty, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Canadian Minister of Finance
- 1950 - Timothy Mo, Chinese-English author
- 1950 - Lewis Shiner, American journalist and author
- 1950 - Bjarne Stroustrup, Danish computer scientist, created the C++ programming language
- 1950 - Martti Vainio, Finnish runner
- 1951 - Doug Allder, English footballer and coach
- 1951 - Chris Jasper, American musician, singer-songwriter, and producer
- 1951 - Nick Rose, English runner
- 1952 - June Anderson, American soprano and actress
- 1953 - Daniel T. Barry, American engineer and astronaut
- 1953 - Dana Key, American singer, guitarist, and producer
- 1953 - Graham Vick, English director and producer
- 1953 - Meredith Vieira, American journalist and game show host
- 1954 - Barry Greenstein, American poker player and philanthropist
- 1956 - Ingus Baušķenieks, Latvian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1956 - Suzy Bogguss, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1956 - Patricia Kalember, American actress
- 1956 - Sheryl Lee Ralph, American actress and singer
- 1957 - Matt Lauer, American journalist and television host
- 1957 - Glenn Robbins, Australian comedian and actor
- 1958 - Pedro Costa, Portuguese director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
- 1958 - Steven Smith, American engineer and astronaut
- 1959 - Antonio Pappano, English pianist and conductor
- 1959 - Kåre Thomsen, Norwegian guitarist and graphic designer
- 1959 - Tracey Ullman, English-American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter
- 1959 - Josée Verner, Canadian politician, 8th Canadian Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
- 1960 - Richard M. Durbin, English biologist and academic
- 1961 - Douglas Coupland, German-Canadian author and playwright
- 1961 - Bill English, New Zealand farmer and politician, 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand
- 1961 - Sean Hannity, American radio and television host
- 1961 - Ben Johnson, Jamaican-Canadian sprinter
- 1961 - Charlie Nicholas, Scottish footballer and sportscaster
- 1963 - Chandler Burr, American journalist and author
- 1963 - Mike Pompeo, American diplomat and politician; 70th United States Secretary of State
- 1963 - Johnny Rogers, American-Spanish basketball player
- 1963 - Milan Šrejber, Czech tennis player
- 1964 - Almir Kayumov, Russian footballer and referee
- 1964 - Sylvie Moreau, Canadian actress and screenwriter
- 1964 - George Newbern, American actor
- 1965 - Heidi Fleiss, American procurer
- 1966 - Gary Chartier, American philosopher, scholar, and academic
- 1966 - Bennett Miller, American director and producer
- 1967 - Carl Ouellet, Canadian wrestler and sportscaster
- 1968 - Bryan Burk, American screenwriter and producer
- 1968 - Adam Dale, Australian cricketer
- 1968 - Sandra Glover, American hurdler
- 1968 - Albano Mucci, Australian activist
- 1969 - Emmanuel Clérico, French race car driver
- 1969 - Dave England, American snowboarder and stuntman
- 1969 - Jay Kay, English singer and songwriter
- 1969 - Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia
- 1969 - Michelle McGann, American golfer
- 1969 - Meredith Monroe, American actress
- 1971 - Sister Bliss, English keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
- 1971 - C. S. Lee, Korean-American actor
- 1971 - Ricardo, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1971 - Daniel Sunjata, American actor
- 1972 - Daniel Amokachi, Nigerian footballer and manager
- 1972 - Maureen Flannigan, American actress and producer
- 1972 - Paul Keegan, Irish footballer
- 1972 - Dita Indah Sari, Indonesian trade union leader and activist
- 1973 - Jason Behr, American actor
- 1973 - Ato Boldon, Trinidadian runner, sportscaster, and politician
- 1974 - Alexandro Alves do Nascimento, Brazilian footballer
- 1974 - Dr. Jitheshji, Indian Speed Cartoonist and Pictorial Orator
- 1975 - Scott Chipperfield, Australian footballer
- 1975 - Tiger Woods, American golfer
- 1976 - Kastro, American rapper
- 1976 - Patrick Kerney, American football player
- 1976 - A. J. Pierzynski, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1977 - Laila Ali, American boxer and actress
- 1977 - Glory Alozie, Nigerian-Spanish sprinter and hurdler
- 1977 - Grant Balfour, Australian baseball player
- 1977 - Saša Ilić, Serbian footballer and manager
- 1977 - Kenyon Martin, American basketball player
- 1977 - Lucy Punch, English actress
- 1977 - Kazuyuki Toda, Japanese footballer
- 1978 - Devin Brown, American basketball player
- 1978 - Tyrese Gibson, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1978 - Phillips Idowu, English triple jumper
- 1978 - Zbigniew Robert Promiński, Polish drummer
- 1978 - Rob Scuderi, American ice hockey player
- 1979 - Michael Grimm, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1980 - Eliza Dushku, American former actress and producer
- 1980 - D. J. Mbenga, Congolese-Belgian basketball player
- 1980 - Alison McGovern, British politician
- 1981 - Ali Al-Habsi, Omani footballer
- 1981 - Cédric Carrasso, French footballer
- 1981 - Michael Rodríguez, Costa Rican footballer
- 1981 - Matt Ulrich, American football player
- 1982 - Kristin Kreuk, Canadian actress
- 1982 - Tobias Kurbjuweit, German footballer
- 1982 - Dawan Landry, American football player
- 1983 - Eddie Edwards, American professional wrestler
- 1983 - Nick Symmonds, American runner
- 1983 - Kevin Systrom, American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Instagram
- 1984 - Randall Azofeifa, Costa Rican footballer
- 1984 - Andra Day, American singer and songwriter
- 1984 - LeBron James, American basketball player, producer and businessman
- 1985 - Lars Boom, Dutch cyclist
- 1985 - Bryson Goodwin, Australian rugby league player
- 1985 - Anna Wood, American actress
- 1986 - Domenico Criscito, Italian footballer
- 1986 - Ellie Goulding, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1986 - Caity Lotz, American actress
- 1986 - Jeff Ward, American actor
- 1986 - Gianni Zuiverloon, Dutch footballer
- 1987 - Jakub Nakládal, Czech ice hockey player
- 1989 - Tyler Anderson, American baseball player
- 1989 - Yoon Bo-ra, South Korean singer, rapper and actress
- 1989 - Ryan Sheckler, American skateboarder and entrepreneur
- 1989 - Kateřina Vaňková, Czech tennis player
- 1990 - Bruno Henrique, Brazilian footballer
- 1990 - Joe Root, English cricketer
- 1990 - C. J. Wilcox, American basketball player
- 1991 - Camila Giorgi, Italian tennis player
- 1992 - Ryan Tunnicliffe, English footballer
- 1992 - Carson Wentz, American football player
- 1995 - Igor Shesterkin, Russian hockey goaltender
- 1995 - Joshua, American singer
- 1995 - Ollie Watkins, English footballer
- 1995 - V, South Korean singer